Pure Heroine
by notaboutcat
Summary: Inspired by the man in the mask, Tessa Nolan dons her own mask and a blonde wig, aiming to protect people so they wouldn't get hurt like her brother did. Only problem is, people don't seem to take a 5'3 chick in a blonde wig as seriously as they take the man in the mask. Eventual Matt/OC
1. Prologue

**PURE HEROINE  
PROLOGUE**

 _"Because sometimes chance and circumstance can seem like the most appalling injustice, but we just have to adapt. That's all we can do."  
—_Gavin Extence

Anger is a powerful emotion.

It consumes and envelopes and burns like a fire. For some it burns like a slow ember, pulsing endlessly, a constant presence inside. Sometimes it builds until it roars in your ears and burns in your veins and you can feel it - _you can feel it consuming you_.

Tessa Nolan has felt that anger. She feels it every time someone she loved is hurt and no one does anything about it. She's felt it when her mother stands by silently as her boyfriend throws slurs and punches towards her children. She's felt it when her friend - her friend with the bright smile and infectious laugh – is raped and the police do nothing about it because why would they believe the word of a seventeen year old girl over a well-respected member of the community, old enough to be her father, who swears she came onto him.

She's felt every time someone has hurt one of her loved ones in her city and she swears to God, she's going to snap one day.

And then one day, she finally does.

* * *

It's a typical Tuesday morning. Tessa is running around the apartment in furious attempt to not be for work, since her alarm clock failed to wake her. Her twin brother, Camden, sits on top of the kitchen counter leisurely and Tessa glares at him. He's late too, but he doesn't give a shit about his job and they won't fire him because he's the best employee they have.

Dick.

Tessa's phone begins to vibrate at her side, as she pulls on her heels. She picks it up, the name Margo, her sister-in-law, displayed on the screen, and answers it. "Morning Margo, do you still need to babysit on Tuesday?" She asks, shoulder pressing her phone against her ear. The only answer she gets was a soft sob from the other end of the line. Tessa pauses, frowning in worry. "Margo? What's wrong?" She asks, glancing up at Camden who has appeared in the doorway.

' _Something wrong?_ ' Camden mouths.

Tessa shrugs. Margo hasn't answered properly yet, instead she sounds like she was trying to breathe deeply. Like she's trying to speak and not cry. "Margo?"

"It's Danny, Tessa." She finally says, before letting out a sob. "He's dead. Someone _murdered_ him."

* * *

The atmosphere in Danny's house that day is vastly different from any other time she's been there. Usually, the kids would be running around playing with their toys or arguing with each other. Now it's just quiet.

Tessa hates it.

The kids have been shipped off to the house of Margo's sister, Jeanette, while the twins talk to the police and help Margo arrange the funeral. Tessa and Camden arrive shortly before the kids left, work being abandoned for the day. Tessa is dry-eyed while Camden's are bloodshot from crying. Margo had hung up after telling the twins to come to their house, as the detectives wanted to talk to them, so they hadn't heard what exactly happened.

(She refused to believe anything until she heard what happened from Margo because _it can't be true, it couldn't be true.)_

Tessa stands behind the couch, watching Camden as he tries to comfort Margo after the detectives told them what happened. He was always better at doing that. Tessa was never good at dealing with other people's grief, especially if she was dealing with her own.

Danny was their half-brother and despite the age gap, he was very close to his siblings. He had been the one to take the twins in after they ran away from their mother's home at fifteen. After hearing the news from the detective in front of them, it's like a freight train hit her in the chest. She hasn't cried, she hasn't spoken, she just stands and stares.

"We are very sorry for your loss, Mrs Fisher." One of the detectives says. "If it were possible, we would like to ask you a few questions about your husband." Margo nodes, wiping her eyes. "Was your husband acting strangely in the last few days?"

Margo thinks for a moment. "N-no, not that I can think of." She says.

The detective glances over at Camden and Tessa. "Nothing out of the ordinary." Camden adds. Tessa nods in agreement.

"Where did your husband work?" He asks.

"Union Allied. A construction company. He worked in the legal department."

"Did he mention anything about his work lately?" He asks.

"He thought there was something strange going on, but he didn't mention anything else." Margo says.

"He definitely didn't say anything else?" He asks. Margo shakes her head. "That was all he said?"

"I'm sure of it." She replies.

"How is this relevant?" Tessa snaps, getting impatient with their questioning. They should be out there looking for the murderer, not sitting here questioning them over the tiniest details.

"We need to make sure we have every detail to help with the investigation, Miss Nolan." He replies. Tessa recoils and doesn't reply. "Now, Mrs Fisher, would there be a possibility that Daniel was having an affair?"

That gains a large reaction from the group. Margo gapes at him in horror, while Camden scowls at the insinuation. Tessa however, is far more vocal in her reaction. "No!" She exclaims. "Fuck no, Danny wasn't like that! Danny sure as hell wasn't like that!" She snarls, stepping closer towards the detectives, who stand up. Camden grabs her arm, pulling her back. She tugs it away, having finally snapped out of her shocked state.

"Miss Nolan, please calm down." One of the detectives says, sounding so condescending that Tessa feels like picking up the clock from the mantelpiece and throwing it at his head.

Tessa instead settles for scowling at his condescending tone. "No! I will not calm down, especially when you should be out there, doing your jobs, and finding my brother's killer but instead you're here asking stupid questions!" She snarls at him.

" _Tessa_!" Camden snaps, now on his feet with a hand around Tessa's arm. He gives her a look, telling her to shut up before she gets herself arrested.

"Actually, Miss Nolan, we do have someone in custody." The detective says, making Tessa freeze.

"What?"

"We already have a suspect in custody." He replies. "We are asking these questions to help with the investigation."

The roaring anger Tessa feels dims. Hope replaces it, the hope that her brother's killer has been found and he'll get justice.

And then twenty four hours later, the hope is gone and the anger is back and Tessa finally decides she's not going to sit on her ass and do nothing anymore.

( _She looks back at this as the time where she finally snaps._ )


	2. i see a dark stranger

**Trigger Warnings:** Depiction of a panic attack and mentions of violence.

 **PURE HEROINE  
CHAPTER ONE  
I SEE A DARK STRANGER**

" _She's angry, she's always angry, it's the only way she can feel sad and strong at the same time."  
_ — VàZaki Nada

Her fists slam into the punching bag over and over again, drops of sweat running down her brow and back. Tessa's been like this for nearly forty minutes now, trying to focus all of her anger and grief into her fists. They pound the punching bag and every ounce of pain that shocks through her system pushes her to continue.

The last twenty-four hours had probably been some of the worst hours of her life. She had to tell the kids what had happened all by herself because Margo couldn't stop crying and Camden was trying to comfort her.

It had been awful.

The oldest, Felicity, had locked herself in her room and refused to come out. Shane had sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. The youngest, Alec, didn't understand her words. He kept asking her where his daddy was and it made her heart ache because he was five-years-old and he couldn't understand why his daddy was gone.

The look on Alec's face sticks in her mind, making her beat the punching bag harder.

Somebody took her brother away. Her brother who loved and cared for her, her brother who took Tessa and her twin in after they ran away, her brother who had a family. Somebody decided to take him away and she wants to do something about it.

It's not until the music blasting through her headphones is suddenly cut off, that she realises someone is calling her. She pauses and answers the phone. "Why haven't you been answering my texts?" Camden asks the moment she answers.

"Hello to you to, Cam." She says, frowning at his tone.

"Seriously, why haven't you been answering my texts?" He asks again.

"Didn't hear them." She replies. Truth be told, she had been ignoring them. She just wanted an hour or two alone with her thoughts. She doesn't want to hear the outpouring of the condolences that all seem to be blending into one large blur. She just wants silence.

"Okay, well can you just come home please?" He snaps, making Tessa's frown deepen at the urgency in his voice.

"What's going on?" She asks.

"I just got curious Tess, I had to look-" He stops, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Just come home, okay?"

"What did you do Camden?" She asks, becoming agitated.

"… I miiiight have hacked into the police database again." He pauses. "And if the government is listening, that was a complete lie!"

"…"

"Tessa?"

"Seriously?!" Tessa snaps, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I cannot deal with you actually getting arrested, Cam. I don't need that bullshit right now."

"It was for a good reason!" He exclaims.

"It better be!"

"And I'm not going to get arrested!" He adds, making Tessa roll her eyes.

"You know what, I'll be home in like ten minutes." Tessa snaps, wiping her brow with her sleeve. "You can tell me about this bullshit when I get there."

"It's not bullshit-" She hangs up, not wanting to listen to her brother anymore. Tessa puts her phone into her back pocket and grabs her gym bag, starting to make her journey home but not before making a stop at a store to buy cigarettes.

It's a habit she's been trying to kick for years, but anytime something stressful appears in her life, she finds herself with a cigarette in her hand. She supposes everyone has their own way of dealing with what they're going through. Camden gets reckless with what he finds interesting at that moment in time, whether could be hacking or drinking. Tessa smokes like a chimney.

By the time she arrives back at their apartment, she's already on her third cigarette. She puts it out before she enters – Camden hates the smell – and opens the door.

Her brother sits at the kitchen counter, his laptop sitting open in front of him and a number of empty cups at his side. Tessa supposes they all contained coffee, which would explain how anxious and jittery he was over the phone. She throws her bag into the corner and turns to her brother. "So what gave you this bright idea?"

Camden gained his 'hobby' when they were about thirteen. He started by hacking into the school system and only did small things, like changing the lunch menu. It then escalated to changing the grades of both him and his twin sister, and then eventually those who gave him something in return. Soon enough, the principle had found out and had him expelled, hoping to set him on the right path and get him away from his hobby.

As you can tell, that did not go as planned as Camden did the exact opposite of what he hoped for. In fact, Camden only took the expulsion as a message that he had to get better.

Camden hops off the seat and runs shaking hands through his hair. His red eyes already have a ring of black around them and Tessa realises she wasn't the only one who hadn't slept the night before. "Okay," he says, "Okay, okay, I got curious. The detective said they had a suspect and I just got so goddamn curious. I just wanted to see who did this to our brother."

He trails off, waiting for Tessa to answer, and hops from one foot to another nervously. Tessa nods at him to continue.

He motions for her to come to the counter and turns the laptop around to show her. "It's Karen Page." Camden says. "She was found kneeling beside D-Danny's…" He trails off, not able to say the next word, "Holding a knife and covered in blood."

"Karen Page." Tessa repeats. Danny had mentioned her a few times, saying that she was a girl from work. Hell, Tessa had even met her once when she had to meet Danny at his work and they had spoken for a few moments in passing. She had seemed nice enough.

Now, the thought of her makes Tessa feel sick. She keeps picturing Karen with a knife in her hands and Danny's blood covering her body and her brother lying there dead. Somebody took her brother away and she wants to do something about it. Those words repeat in her head over and over again.

"But get this, Karen Page hasn't officially been charged." Camden adds. "In fact she got released."

That pulls Tessa's attention away from the information on the screen. "What?"

"They released her a couple of hours ago, they even held her longer than they're legally allowed to." He explains.

"Wait, if she wasn't charged then how do you know all of this?" Tessa asks.

"Looked around. One of the detectives had made a file on his computer." He explained, earning a furious look from Tessa. He shrugs in return. "What? They need to get a better firewall! Better software too, that stuff was-"

"You're getting off topic."

"Right, sorry."

Tessa turns back to the documents. "I just don't understand why she wasn't charged." She says. "She was holding the murder weapon; she was covered in his blood." She feels sick even saying those words. "Why wasn't she charged?" There were so many questions in her mind. Why wasn't she arrested? Why was her brother not given justice? Why her brother? Whywhywhy?

"I don't know." Camden says. "Maybe she knows something we don't." Tessa doesn't reply. "Maybe if we…" He trails off, making Tessa look up at him.

The look on his face makes Tessa frown at him. "What are you suggesting?" She asks.

"Maybe if we just go talk to her-"

"Talk to her?!" Tessa snaps, staring at her brother like he just suggested they go tell the police that he had hacked into their system. "You want to talk to the woman who murdered our brother?! And say what?!"

"Oh I don't know, did you murder our brother?" Camden snaps back. He doesn't like it when Tessa talks to him like that. "Why didn't you immediately get charged? Why aren't you in jail right now, despite the fact that you were holding the weapon that someone used to murder our brother? Why is this case so fucking weird?"

"And how is that conversation going to start?" Tessa sneers, tilting her head, "'Hi my name is Camden Nolan, I found out that you are the main suspect in my brother's murder, but you got released, despite the fact that you were found holding the weapon and covered in his blood, and now I want to ask you some questions about it. How do I know this, you ask? Well, I just so happened to hack into the police computer systems and looked around for the information!"

Would it make her sound like a bitch if Tessa said she actually wants to go see Karen Page? She wants to find her, she wants to ask her why was she released? Why her brother? _Whywhywhy_?

But bringing Camden there? Possibly revealing the fact that he hacked into the police systems, a fact that could get him arrested, fined, and thrown into jail for a couple of years? There is no way in hell she is going to let that happen, that would be a stupid decision and Tessa can handle those on her own. She is one of the few people that can talk her brother out of a decision and she'll be damned if she doesn't convince him now.

Camden stares at her and shakes his head. "Are you shitting me right now?" He asks. "You seriously want me to sit on my ass as the person who murdered our brother runs around free?"

"I'm not saying that-"

"Then what are you saying?!"

"I'm saying, don't get yourself arrested! I'm saying don't start digging into this, because the fact that you found out about it through illegal ways is going to look very bad if, I don't know, someone like a cop finds out about this." She explains.

Camden is silent for a moment. He stands and stares at his sister, shaking his head like he can't believe what she's saying. "I can't believe you." He says, shaking his head. "I can't freakin' believe you."

"I'm just trying to protect you!"

Camden lets out a frustrated sigh and runs his hands through his hair. "You know what," He says, darting away from Tessa to grab his jacket from the back of the chair, "I need to get out of here."

"Where you going?" Tessa snaps.

"Out!" He snaps, "I need to get out of here for Christ's sake. I can't breathe."

"Camden, where are you going?"

"Just leave me alone, alright?" He sneers at her, turning on his heel. The door slams shut behind him.

* * *

Hours had passed and Camden still hadn't returned home. Tessa called him dozens of time, only to get no answer, before calling all of the usual places he goes to, which were usually parties.

She ended up talking to one of his friends - Jez or Jess or something beginning with J – who said, and she quotes, "Yeah, uh, he says 'could you fuck off and leave me alone for a while?' His words, not mine."

At least he's there, probably getting drunk off his ass, but not going after Karen Page. Tessa lets out a sigh and takes another sip of her beer, before placing it down beside the empty bottle and fiddles with her phone absentmindedly. She hates fighting with her brother like this, but she's trying to protect him. What if he did go after Karen Page? In her mind, there were two ways that would have gone:

A) The police find out about how Camden knew the information and arrested him because hacking into the police system is a federal fucking offence.

B) She loses another brother and there was no way in hell she was going to let that happen. She already lost Danny. She can't imagine how she would feel if she lost Camden.

There is still a part of her that wants to go after Karen Page, despite all the grief she gave her brother for even suggesting the idea. Somebody took her brother away and she wants to do something about it. The words still repeat in her mind and she wants to do something, she wants justice, she wants to know that her brother's killer isn't behind bars.

And she wants to do that on her own, so if something goes wrong, she is the only one that has to deal with the consequences.

Tessa hops off her chair at the counter and goes to Camden's computer. It's still on, the soft whirring had been the only sound in the room for the past half hour, so she moves the mouse around to scroll through the files.

Her attention turns to the scraps of paper beside the computer. She flicks through the pile, glancing over the notes her brother had made on the case.

 _Karen Page. Secretary._

 _Danny's friend/acquaintance. Met for drinks on night of death._

 _Motive?_

That's what Tessa is wondering too.

Bellow, Camden had written Karen's address, so Tessa tore off what she was looking for and tugs her hoodie back on, before shoving her keys in one pocket and her tazer in the other.

If she was meeting the woman who most likely killed her brother, she was not going to go unprotected.

Tessa leaves a note for her brother, in the unlikely event that he comes home before she does, telling him that she went out for a while. She darts out the front door and begins her journey, arriving at Karen's apartment block twenty minutes later.

* * *

She tugs her hood over her head as she hops out of the cab, handing the driver his money through the window. Tessa quickly darts across the road and into the apartment block. Wet red hair clings to her forehead as she wraps her arms around herself, shivering from the cold. The scrap of paper is still in her hand, the ink smudged but still readable.

She climbs the stairs to Karen's floor and makes it to her front door, lifting her hand to ring the doorbell. Tessa pauses before she can actually press it. _Can you do it?_ She asks herself. _Are you ready to face the woman how could have killed your brother?_

 _If it meant getting some answers? Then, yes._

She rings the doorbell.

No answer.

She rings the doorbell again.

No answer.

She rings the doorbell and, of course, there's no answer and she's mentally berating herself, because how could she be so fucking stupid as to believe that Karen would be there. She resolves to wait because she isn't going to chicken out of this.

 _God, I need another cigarette._

There's a fire escape in the hallway that looks relatively sheltered, so she climbs out there, deciding to wait for a while.

Tessa sits on the fire escape and smokes another cigarette, the bravado she got from the alcohol beginning to wear off. _This is stupid. This whole idea is stupid. What was this going to accomplish?_ She thinks, doubting Karen is even going to come home.

She is about to turn and go home, tail tucked between her legs, when the sound of hurried footsteps grabs her attention. Tessa put out her cigarette, turns, and comes face to face with the woman who supposedly killed her brother.

Karen Page is pale, thin and the bags under her eyes suggest Tessa isn't the only one who hasn't slept in a few days. Tessa stares at her, every angry word she could think of suddenly vanishes from her mind. She thinks it's from the shock. Karen looks uncomfortable under her gaze.

"Um… can I help you?" Karen asks after a few moments of silence.

"I-I'm Tessa Nolan." Tessa says, saying the first thing that comes to her mind. "You- You knew my brother Danny. I want to ask you about what happened."

Karen is silent and, even though Tessa didn't think it was possible, her skin grows paler. "Oh god." She says, her voice barely above a whisper. "Oh my god. I-"She splutters. Tessa still stares, unable to speak and she doesn't know whether it's the grief or the anger or both. "I swear to god, I didn't – I swear I didn't, I – just – this isn't a good time, okay? Could you please just come back later?"

Tessa's fist clench. She stares at Karen and feels the anger inside her burning hotter. "You killed my brother." She hisses. "And now you're brushing me off?"

"No, no, no." Karen shakes her head fervently, putting her head in her hands. She somehow manages to look even more exhausted. "This is just not a good time, okay? I can't do this right now, please just meet me later." She pleads. "I can't do this right now, but I swear to god, I did not kill Danny, he was my friend."

Tessa can feel the anger burning in her bones. This woman could have killed her brother, this woman was the one who most likely killed her brother, and now she was brushing Tessa off like an annoying fly. "You didn't kill my brother." She said incredulously. "But you somehow managed to end up kneeling beside his body completely coincidentally."

Karen pulls her hands away from her face and gives Tessa a startled look. "How did you know that?"

Shit. "Answer the question." Tessa snaps, hoping to dodge Karen's question.

"Jesus Christ." She mutters, sounding as exhausted as she looked. "Just- Could you come inside please?"

Tessa squints at her. "Why would I go anywhere with you?"

" _Just come inside!_ "

Her sudden outburst makes Tessa jump back, gripping her tazer tighter. "I'm sorry," She says, "But I am in the middle of what seems to be the worst two days of my entire life. Please, just come inside. I can't talk to you out here." She pleads, her voice now hushed. " _Please_."

Part of Tessa wants to follow her. The other part asks her questions. _Are you willing to walk in there with woman who could have murdered your brother? Are you willing to face the place where your brother died?_

She could defend herself just fine if Karen tried anything. She had her tazer and had fought people a lot bigger than Karen. As for facing the place where her brother died, well. She was just going to have to suck it up, wasn't she?

"Alright." Tessa says grudgingly. Karen nods and Tessa follows in behind her, shutting the door with a click. The pair stare at each other for a moment, unsure of where to start. The rain pouring outside is the only sound for a moment until –

"What exactly happened?" Tessa asks, folding her arms.

"Danny and I met for a drink, okay?" Karen explains, her voice shaking. "I don't know many people in this city and Danny had always been so nice to me, so I asked did he want to get a drink…" She trails off, struggling to speak for a moment. "B-But I blacked out and the next thing I know…" She takes a shuddering breath. Tessa holds hers. "I'm kneeling beside Danny's body and covered in his blood." Tessa lets out that breath and presses her hands to her head, suddenly feeling like she's going to throw up.

"I know how that sounds, but I swear I didn't kill your brother. He was my friend, I could never..." Her voice catches. "Someone is trying to frame me, I swear to God I didn't do this." Karen continues. "He was my friend and he had a family and his little boy's only five…"

"Alec." Tessa says, rubbing at her eyes. "His name's Alec and he kept on asking me where his daddy was today."

"Oh god." Karen whispers, pressing her hand to her mouth. "Oh god."

 _Your brother is dead and you have your answers. The question is, do you believe her?_ "Why should I believe you?" Tessa asks.

" _Because it's the truth!_ " Karen snaps, growing frustrated.

Tessa turns away from Karen, feeling a lump form in her throat only for everything to become so much realer.

The red catches her eye and suddenly the air is gone from her lungs. Danny. She stares at the red that stains the carpet and realises that she is not prepared to face this place at all. _DannyDannyDanny_. In her mind, she can see her brother bleeding. She can see his blood staining the carpet and the light fading from his eyes. Her chest feels tighter. _DannyDannyDanny ohgodohgodohgod_. She stumbles back slightly, wanting to get away.

"Tessa?" Karen's voice pulls her out of her thoughts.

"I-I…" She trails off, stumbling backwards. _Was the room always this hot?_ "I need some air."

"Are you okay?" Karen asks, taking a step towards her.

"I-I-I'm fine." Tessa says, even though the room is spinning around her. "Can I use your bathroom?"

"First on the left." Karen points it out to her. Tessa stumbles inside and shuts the door behind her, before sinking down to the floor.

Everything felt so much more real.

Tessa slides to the floor, suddenly feeling light-headed. _Why did I come here?_ She can't handle this; she can't handle any of this. _Why did think this was a good idea?_

Maybe there was a small part of her that didn't believe this was real. That believed that the past twenty-fours had been a horrible dream that she would wake up from, that everything would be fine and her brother would be alive and they would be happy – _and_ _why the fuck can't I breathe?_

Tears burn in her eyes at the thought of her brother lying there, bleeding out onto the floor. She presses her hands to her eyes, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She has to get up and get out of here. _You are having a panic attack in a stranger's bathroom. Just get up._

She struggles to get to the sink, splashing cold water onto her face as she struggles to calm down. She remembers something about controlling your breathing, so she attempts that. She manages to stop the pounding in her ears, but she still feels like there isn't enough air in her lungs. She splashes more water in her face, leaning against the sink and takes a deep breath.

A scream catches Tessa's attention, followed by a _thump! Thump!_ Tessa pulls herself out of the bathroom, her body still shaking, and calls out "Karen?" She stops in her tracks.

There's a man in the living room and he's looming over Karen's crumpled form.

 _Shit_.

Tessa steps back as he whips around to face her, her foot landing on something small and hard. They stare at each other for a moment.

The man darts forward.

Tessa jumps back, able to kick back whatever was under her foot away from his reach, before managing to get tackled in return. She cries out as her head smacks against the ground. Tessa tries to wriggle out of his grip as the man grabs her by the hair.

 _Nonononono_.

She tries desperately to get to her tazer as the man smacks her head against the floor, making her cry out. _Comeoncomeonecomeon._ Her nose is burning in pain and her heart is pounding and she has to get out, she has to get out.

She manages to pull out the tazer and swings her fist around to hit him with it when – he knocks the tazer out of her hands and Tessa realises that she may be fucking done for.

 _Shit._

Tessa's head gets smacked against the ground again and her struggling gets weaker. Her head is pounding, the world is spinning and she just wants to close her eyes and rest her head. Her legs are grabbed and she realises that she's getting picked up. " _No_." She groans, her speech slurred. "What are – no, no." She struggles to wriggle out of his grasp.

" _No!_ "

"Shut up!" He snaps.

Tessa struggles as he holds her over his shoulder. " _Don't_." She croaks, her heart pounding in fear as she realises that she may die tonight. "Oh god."

The door flies open with a bang and Tessa is suddenly dropped.

"Fuck." She groans, pain shooting through her as she rolls onto her back. The pounding in her head subsides slightly, but the world is still spinning. She groans again and the ringing in her ears fades slightly, allowing Tessa to hear the sound of fighting.

She rolls onto her side and looks around, before blinking in surprise. Was she hallucinating or was the man actually fighting another man, who was wearing a black mask?

Man, he must have hit her head a lot harder than she realised.

A woozy Tessa struggles to her hands and knees, as the fighting still happens around her. She struggles to crawl to Karen and shakes the woman when she gets to her. "Karen, come on." She hisses. "Wake up, we need to go." Karen stirs and lets out a groan, her eyes opening. "Karen, come on!"

The window shatters and Tessa lets out a shriek of surprise. She spins around just in time to see the two men tumble out of it. She rises shakily to her feet. Were they dead? They weren't on that high up in the building, but maybe falling from that distance and through a window….

Tessa went to the window, pressing her hand against the wall to maintain her balance. There was blood running down her nose, but the world had finally stopped spinning.

"Are they dead?" Karen asks.

Tessa leans out of the window to look for them. The two men lay motionless on the ground. "I don't know." Tessa's curiosity gets the better of her, making her sit on top of the windowsill and swing her legs outside.

"What are you doing!?" Karen hisses.

"Going to see if they're still alive." She replies. With that, Tessa hops down and lands in a crouch on a piece of scaffolding. The board creaks as she slowly gets to her feet, before trying to spy a way to get down. A groan catches her attention, making Tessa spot the man in black struggling to get to his feet.

There's the sound of a roar of fury and everything goes from bad to worse.

"Look out!" Tessa shouts to the man in black as the other darts over to get rid of him.

The man in black stands up and begins to fight back, just as Tessa manages to find a way down. She runs down the steps and turns the corner, only to see the man swing his knife. The man in the mask dodges every blow.

Tessa can't help but stare as the man in the mask fights back, eventually managing to wrap a chain around the man's neck that kept him against the wall, allowing the man to beat the crap out of him. Eventually, he wears down the other man well enough for him to collapse. The man in the mask steps back and Tessa takes a few steps closer, unable to help her curiosity.

What she doesn't expect is the man coming straight at her. Tessa suddenly finds herself shoved against the wall, a pipe sticking into her back and an arm pressed tightly against her throat. Her heart begins to pound. _Shit. Shitshitshit._

"Why are you here?" He snarls at her. "Who do you work for?"

"Nothing!" Tessa exclaims, gasping as his arm presses tighter against her throat. "I don't work for anyone!"

"You're lying." Tessa lets out another gasp of pain.

"I'm not!"

"Then why is your heart beating so fast?"

"Maybe because you have me pressed against the wall!" She snaps. She chokes as his arm presses tightly against her throat, cutting off her breathing for a moment. "I don't work for anyone!" She manages to gasp out. "I'm here for my brother."

"Your brother?"

"Daniel Fisher." Was it just her imagination or did he just freeze for a moment? "Karen killed him but then she got released. I wanted to know why."

"How did you know about Miss Page?" He asks.

Tessa gulps and doesn't reply. Even though he was a masked vigilante who probably had no connections to the police, Tessa still didn't want rat out her little brother. "If you don't answer me, I can make this very difficult."

"I-I know someone." She says. "They hacked into the police system and told about what they had written about Karen's arrest."

"Why would they do that?"

"They owed me a favour." She snaps. "Listen to me, I wasn't here to kill her, okay? I wasn't here to hurt her, I just wanted to ask some questions." She wonders if that part was true. There's a voice in her mind that asks her would she have hurt Karen if her anger got the better of her.

The man tilts his head, his frown deepening. "Funny, I don't believe you."

"It's true! Okay, I was angry, I thought she had killed my brother!" She exclaims. Her eyes dart over to the man hanging unconscious. Now, she wasn't so sure. "But I swear, I wasn't going to kill her!"

The man pauses for a moment, making Tessa watch him in anticipation – _or was it fear_? Was her answer good enough for him or was he going beat her until she was unconscious like he did to the man to her left? Maybe she could fight back long enough to get away. _Well, not if he pulled out the flippy shit he did earlier._

He suddenly releases his hold around her neck and her knees start to shake, before she feels herself sliding to the ground. _Must be that oxygen deprivation._

"I believe you." He says. "Go home and don't get involved in this."

With that, he turns and walks away, leaving Tessa sitting in the rain with even more questions on her mind.

* * *

 **And that's the first chapter done! Sorry about the long wait, I had a mountain of schoolwork to get through but hopefully now that it's finished, I can upload more. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and please let me know what you think!**


	3. ashes to ashes

**PURE HEROINE  
** **CHAPTER TWO  
** **ASHES TO ASHES**

" _I'm heading straight for the castle."  
_ \- Castle/Halsey

She stumbles home, soaked to the skin because her mind is too wound up to even think of calling for a cab. She finally reaches safety and there, she breaks down and sobs because her brother is dead and she won't ever see him again, won't ever hear his voice and her niece and nephews will grow up without their father. The blood stain sticks in her mind all night, keeping her from sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her brother's broken body.

Everything begins to change the next day.

Camden stumbles in at about eight the next morning, clutching a newspaper and swaying. Tessa can tell he's still a bit drunk. It's not like she hasn't seen this before, but something about the look on his face makes her pause.

"Did you see this?" He asks, throwing the newspaper in front of her. Tessa looks from him to the newspaper, realising that it is the one she works at. She flips through it to the article, scanning through it as Camden continues to speak. "Karen Page didn't kill Danny, she was just trying to show the world what they were doing and they decided to kill Danny to discredit her, what kind of sick bastards do that?!" He sneers, pacing furiously up and down the kitchen. The article confirmed it. A pension scheme, a mercenary, a company willing to kill to keep their money.

"I was right!" He exclaims. "I was right the whole damn time, I told you there was something weird about this case and she might not have killed Danny, but you were just okay with throwing that away!"

Tessa stiffens slightly. "I was just trying to protect you." She says firmly, not in the mood to argue, "You could have been arrested." _Or killed._

Camden storms off into his room. "I'm twenty-fucking-four years old, I'm not a damn child!" He slams the door behind him.

Tessa puts her head in her arms and sighs. _Looks like this argument wasn't stopping anytime soon._ She glances at the newspaper. At least there was one thing that hasn't gone to shit. She waits to see when those bastards would be lead out in handcuffs. She wants justice for her brother and that means seeing the person who killed her brother being finally put behind bars.

( _The anger inside her still burns in the pit of her stomach_.)

* * *

She hates funerals.

She hates the cold church and the endless amounts of people who keep on asking her if she's okay and the priest waxing lyrical about her brother when he didn't even know him. Admittedly, Tessa's a little grouchy-maybe because she didn't sleep the night before, or maybe because Camden's still not really speaking to her. Or maybe both.

Tessa sighs and tugs on her coat before leaves her bedroom. Cam stands at the mirror in the hallway, frustratedly tugging at his tie. If she listens, she can hear a steady stream of curses coming from his mouth. "Stupid fucking moron, can't even tie your stupid fucking tie right."

Camden is still giving her the cold shoulder, but they've agreed to be civil to each other today for Margo's sake. She has enough to deal with without their shit. Tessa turns her brother around to face her and starts to tie his tie for him. "Why does it have to be in a church?" He grumbles, as Tessa looks from the tie to his red-ringed eyes. "He didn't even go half the time, he just went on Christmas and Easter."

She shrugs, tugging the tie into place. "Margo's choice."

"He didn't even like going, he just went for her sake." He says.

"Come on, Cam." She sighs, pulling away her hands. "Don't be like that today."

He steps back, leaning against the wall, and lets out a sigh. "I just - I fucking hate funerals," he admits.

"So do I."

He looks at her with narrowed eyes. "How are you so fine with this?" He asks.

Tessa is silent.

She is exhausted and she won't let it show because she's afraid that if she starts to cry in front of everyone, then she won't stop.

Tessa shrugs. "I just am."

Cam opens his mouth to reply but is stopped by the sound of the ringing doorbell. Camden gives her a look that suggests their conversation isn't over and Tessa opens the door, finding her niece Felicity on the other side. "Hey sweetheart." Tessa greets. "Where's your mom?"

"At home with Alec. Shane's in the car with Aunt Jeannie and they told me to come and get you two." She explains.

"Why are they still at the house?" Tessa asks.

"Alec doesn't want to put on his suit and mom said to go or we'll be late." Her face crumbles, making Tessa feel a lump in her throat form. "He says he wants to see daddy and keeps crying and he won't shut up." She bursts into tears, making Tessa lean forward and pull the girl into a tight hug.

"Oh kiddo." She says, letting Felicity sob into her shoulder. Despite the fact that she's only twelve, she's managed to nearly overtake Tessa in height. "I know it's hard, but you have to remember, he's only a baby and he doesn't understand."

She lets out a choked sob. "I've been trying to b-be nice, but he won't shut up and it's so h-h-hard."

Tessa rubs circles on her back. "Listen, you've been so brave and your dad would be so proud, and today we have to keep being brave for him, okay?"

But later on, Tessa herself isn't feeling so brave. She watches as the coffin is lowered into the ground, with her other brother and sister-in-law crying at her side, and realises that this is Danny that is being lowered into the ground and she will never see him again. Her hands begin to shake and something in her stomach twists. She stares at the coffin, feeling like someone has put a belt around her chest and keeps tightening it.

She doesn't even realise that she's visibly shaking until Camden places his hand on her shoulder. "Tess?" He whispers, a worried frown on his face.

"I'm fine." She whispers, knowing that she needs to get away because it feels like that the air has disappeared from her lungs. "Excuse me."

She's almost sprinting as she leaves the ceremony, tottering slightly in her heels as she makes her way over the grass. She finally makes it to the pavement, narrowly dodging a man with a white cane and sunglasses going past her. She calls out an apology for almost knocking him over and stops a short distance away, digging through her purse with shaking hands to try to find her cigarettes. She shoves on in between her lips and struggles to light it. It takes her a few tries before it finally lights, and then she takes a long drag that makes her hands shake a little less.

She doesn't want to go back there. She doesn't want to see the coffin being lowered into the ground. Tessa takes another drag of her cigarette and rubs her eyes. She wants-

"Excuse me, uh, Tessa Nolan?"

A familiar voice snaps Tessa out of her thoughts. She turns to see Karen Page standing a short distance away from her, looking at her warily like she's unsure if it's okay to approach. She looks better than she had the last time Tessa saw her. The rings around her eyes are gone and she isn't soaked to the skin this time. "Uh, hi." Tessa says. "I didn't see you inside." She motions her head towards the church.

Karen shrugs. "It didn't feel right for me to be there."

She thinks about how Margo might react to Karen being there. "That might have been for the best." She says. "What are you coming to me for?"

"It's about Danny." Karen says.

Tessa tilts her head and narrows her eyes at Karen. "Oh?" She says, staying perched on the church steps and watching Karen with careful eyes. She knows that she didn't hurt Danny now, but it still feels instinctive for Tessa to be wary of the woman.

Karen takes an unsure step forward, hands gripping her handbag strap tightly. Tessa assumes it nerves. "I'm guessing you saw the article in the Bulletin."

"I did." She replies, taking another drag of her cigarette.

"I assume, since you were at my apartment that night and you asked me all those questions, that you want justice for Danny as well." She says.

Tessa steps forward, raising an eyebrow. "I do." She says, taking another drag of her cigarette. "But why are you coming to me? Did something happen?"

"Have Union Allied approached you or your family at all since Danny died?" She asks.

"No." Tessa frowns, her eyebrows coming together in confusion. "They approached you?"

Karen's fists clench tighter around the straps of her handbag. There's something about the look in her eyes that seems familiar to Tessa, that look of rage. "They want me to keep my mouth shut about what happened to Danny." She shakes her head, her lip curling in disgust. "And I don't think I can do that."

Tessa tilts her head, silently agreeing with her. The thought has been pushed to the back of her mind, too consumed with planning the funeral and looking after the kids, but it's still there. It still burns at the back of her mind, asking her if she's just going to let the people who killed her brother go free.

"Could you?" Karen asks.

"No." Tessa says. "No, I can't, but what do we do about it?" She wants justice for her brother, she's just not sure how they can get it.

Karen looks a little more hopeful than she had before. She smiles and there is an edge to it. "I have a few ideas."

"Tess?" The pair turn to see Camden standing near them, his eyes darting back and forth between the women. "We're going to the reception now."

"Right, right." Tessa says, dropping her cigarette and putting it out with the platform of her shoe, before she turns back to Karen. "I'm so sorry, but I have to go."

The smile drops from Karen's face, but she pulls out a scrap of paper and a pen from her handbag and scrawls down her number. "Okay, well that's my number. Give me a call if you want to talk more about this." Tessa nods and takes the number, before turning on her heel to join Camden.

They walk in silence across the grass to the carpark and Tessa can see her brother glaring at her from the corner of her eye. He let out a huff. "You have something to say, Cam?"

He's silent for a moment, before he stops and snaps. "What the hell was that about?"

Tessa bites her lip and turns to face. She can that her brother is fuming, that he's connected the dots after seeing the pair talk and now he's pissed. "I can explain."

"You better fucking explain, Tess." He sneers at her, throwing his arms wide in exasperation. "First you tell me that I should stay away from Karen Page and then I see you two chatting away like your best friends? What the hell?"

"I went to Karen Page that night." She admits, pursing her lips.

He stares at her for a moment before he explodes. " _Are you shitting me, Tessa?!_ " He snarls at her. "I mean, first you make me feel like a moron for even suggesting it, then you lie to my face and go see her?"

"I know you're mad at me-"

"Damn right I'm mad!"

"I was trying to protect you!"

" _Stop with that bullshit, Tessa!"_

"I was!" She snaps at him, the anger curling in her stomach. "You know somebody came that night to try to kill her? He probably would have killed me too probably, if the man in the mask hadn't come and kicked his ass."

A look of surprise comes across Camden's face for a moment. "You met the man in the mask?" He turns away before she can answer, waving his hand. "You know what, I'm not focusing on that right now. The point is you lied to my face over something this important! I just wanted to know what happened to Danny, to find out who took our brother away and you stopped me! How could you do that?"

"I told you Cam, I was-"

"I swear to God, if you say you were just trying to protect me again, I will drop kick you in the fucking face." He snaps at her, digging his finger into her shoulder and making her stumble back a little from the force of it.

"I'm sorry, Camden." She says. "I'm so sorry, but I couldn't let anything happen to you. You know that hacking into the police database is a criminal offence?"

"You don't think I know that?"

"Well maybe not since you were so fine marching down to Karen Page! You could have been arrested!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms wide in exasperation. " _You could have been killed_!"

"You don't think I know that? I didn't care about any of that, I just wanted wanted retribution for Danny!" He shakes his head at her. "You know what, I can barely look at you right now, okay? Just leave me alone." He waves his hand at her and storms off towards the car.

"Camden!" She calls after him. "Come on!" He ignores her and Tessa lets out a frustrated sigh, pressing her hands to her face. There was a part of her that planned to tell Camden what had happened eventually, but not so soon afterwards. She wonders if this is it, this is what wrecks their relationship beyond repair.

* * *

They're still at Danny's the next day. Margo had decided on a shopping trip earlier, on noticing that there's nothing in the house. Tessa stays with the kids to babysit while Camden goes with her. He's still furious with her, but they keep their rule of not arguing in front of Margo and the kids.

Speaking of the kids, they're still subdued. Alec sits on her lap, lying with his back against her and his thumb in his mouth. He's reverted to almost baby-like behaviour in the past few days. Shane and Felicity lie with their heads against her shoulders. There's an old rerun of _It's Patsy!_ playing on the TV, but she's pretty sure no one's really paying attention to it.

The doorbell rings suddenly, making Tessa move Alec off her lap onto the couch. He lets out a whine, clinging to Tessa's arm. "I have to answer the door, Al." She says, trying to pull away. He lets out another whine. Tessa sighs and scoops him up, carrying the boy with her as they go to the door.

She opens the door to find an unfamiliar man behind it. "Can I help you?" She asks. The man smiles. He seems unremarkable to look at, just another business man in a suit and glasses, but something about him, about the look in his eye, makes her feel like she doesn't want him anywhere near her family. Alec buries his face in her shoulder, and Tessa realises that she might not be the only one who doesn't like the look of the man.

"Is Mrs. Fisher home?" He asks.

"No." She says uneasily, shifting Alec to her other arm to get more room between the pair. "Who are you?"

"I'm with Union Allied Corporation and I, on behalf of my employers, would like to discuss matters to do with her late husband." He replies. "Should I come back?"

"No, she should be back soon." She tells him, knowing that Margo had texted her saying she would be home in about ten minutes, and scrutinises him closely. "What's this about?"

"I'm sorry, but that matter can only be discussed with the family of Mr. Fisher."

"I am family, I'm his sister." She snaps at him.

"Oh yes, you must be Teresa Nolan." Tessa bristles slightly. Objectively, she knows it makes sense for him to know her name, but he's still a stranger and she still doesn't like it." "Well, this matter is one that I need to speak directly to his wife about. May I come in or should I come back later?" He asks.

Tessa stares for a moment, before opening the door wider to let him in. "She'll be home soon."

He steps inside, glancing from Alec, who still won't look up from her shoulder, to the rest of the room. "Perhaps we could continue this in a more private setting."

She follows his eye line to see that the kids were watching them, kneeling on the couch to get a better look at the pair. As soon as she catches their eyes, they dart away to pretend they were still watching the TV. She rolls her eyes, biting her lip to stop from smiling in amusement. "We can talk in the kitchen." She says, quickly sending a text to Margo to let her know some creepy businessman is here. She indicates over at the table and he takes a seat. Tessa leans against the counter and scrutinises him. "You never told me what this is about."

"Well, as I said before, this matter should only be discussed with Mrs Fisher." He says, before glancing at Alec again. "Would he not be more comfortable in the other room?"

"He would prefer to stay with me." Tessa says.

"I would prefer to handle these matters in private." He replies.

"He's _five_ ," She snaps at him, narrowing her eyes, "He won't understand any of it to pass the information along to someone."

He holds up his hand in surrendering gesture. "Whatever you are most comfortable with." They sit in silence for the next few minutes. She scrutinises him carefully and he smiles at her in return. Something about it puts her on edge. He seems pleasant and unextraordinary at a glance, but the look in his eyes makes her feel like he's sizing her up. Like a shark does before it makes its kill. It makes her watch him closely, waiting to see his next move.

It's another few minutes before Camden and Margo come back. Tessa relaxes slightly as she takes some of the bags from Margo, allowing her to sit with the man.

"Who are you?" Margo asks, taking a seat opposite the man. Tessa and Camden stand at the counter, crossing their arms and watching the interaction closely.

"Mrs. Fisher, I'm with Union Allied and I am here to discuss matters to do with your husband." He glances over at Tessa and Camden. "Perhaps we could have this discussion in private?"

Margo glances back at the twins and turns back to the man. "No." She says. "They stay."

He tilts his head slightly, glancing over at the twins with the pleasant smile on his face. The look in his eyes seems more vicious than before, but he doesn't argue. "Fine." He shuffles around the papers on the table. "Mrs. Fisher, while my employers are incredibly apologetic for whatever stress they've caused you and your family-"

" _Stress_?! Did you just say stress?!" Camden snaps, darting forward.

"Danny was murdered and you call that stress?!" Tessa snarls.

Margo's voice is low and angry, quieter than the twins. "My husband was murdered. I think it's safe to say it's a little more stressful."

The man doesn't look fazed at all by their reaction. "Well, to compensate for that, my employers want to offer you and your family a lump sum of six months of your late husband's salary."

Tessa's fists clench. What, was money supposed to make things _better_? Make up for the fact that Danny is _dead_?

"In exchange for what?" Margo asks.

"You must simply sign a nondisclosure agreement that prohibited you or any member of your family from disclosing information regarding your late husband's employer." He explains.

"Is that it?" Margo asks.

He nods and smiles pleasantly. "Yes, my employers hope that this will be good enough compensation for what has happened."

Tessa steps forward, raising an eyebrow in question. "What, so money is supposed to make up for the fact that Danny is dead and _your bosses had him killed_ -"

Her voice has escalated into a snarl at this point, but the look on Margo's face makes her stop. She's breathing deeply, like she's trying to not to cry. She places her hand on Tessa's arm. "Stop." She says. "It's okay." Tessa recoils, turning back to the man. "We're going to need a few days to think about this."

"That is completely understandable." The man nods understandingly, giving them a charming smile before he turns to Tessa. "Let me assure you, Miss Nolan, that all legal action has been taken care of. We hope that now the investigation is over, your family can get a new start. My employers hope that this lump sum can help with that." Something in his eyes grows harder as he looks at Tessa. "We hope that you can move on from this and not take matters into your own hands."

Something about that sentence makes Tessa pause. He holds her stare, his lips curling into smile. Tessa moves away from the man, wanting to put as much space as she could between them. _He knows you were there at Karen's_ , her mind screams at her, the words tinged with paranoia.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be going to let you and your family decide what to do." He says, taking the agreement from the desk and putting it back into his briefcase. He pulls a card from his suit pocket and places it on the table. "Please get in contact with this number when you decide what to do."

Margo takes the card from him. "Thank you." She says. "Can someone show him to the door please?"

Tessa glances over at Camden, who nods his head towards the man. He steps forward and puts his hand on Margo's shoulder. He's always been better with Margo than she was.

"Alright." Tessa says. She leaves the room, the man following close behind her.

Tessa shows the man to the door and shuts it the moment he leaves, wanting to get him out of the apartment and away from her family. It only occurs to her now that he hadn't told them his name.

That thought is pushed to the back of her mind, however, by anger. It burns in her, because they think they can just give her family money and think that'll make everything better.

"God, what a creep." Cam mutters, as she walks back into the kitchen . "Did something about him seem..." He trails off, thinking of the right word. "Off-putting to the rest of you?"

Tessa doesn't have time to reply as Felicity came into the room. "What was that about?"

Tessa turns to her and gives what she hopes is a comforting smile. "Nothing for you to worry about, sweetheart, just some stuff from your dad's work."

Felicity takes a glance at each of their faces and gives an unsure nod. "Shane says he's thirsty." She adds.

"I'll sort that out in a minute, okay?" Tessa replies, before turning to the little boy in her arms. "Sweetheart, can you go with your sister for a minute?" He nods and allows Tessa to put him down, grabbing his sister's hand. Felicity nods and leaves the room to go back to her other brother, leaving the three to stand in silence.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I need a drink after that." Cam says, going to the fridge to search for a beer.

Tessa raises an eyebrow. "It's four in the afternoon."

"It's nine o'clock somewhere."

Tessa rolls her eyes and pours juice for the kids, glancing up at Margo from the corner of her eye. She stares at the card, looking distant. "Margo, you alright?"

She gives a startled look to Tessa, "Yeah, yeah, just thinking about..." She trails off and looks towards the card.

Tessa sets the juice cartoon down, staring at her sister-in-law. "Don't tell me you're actually considering this."

" _Tessa_." Camden says warningly.

"Would that be so terrible?" Margo asks, raising her eyebrows.

Tessa's hands hit the counter. She can feel her anger rising. "They're trying to bribe you into staying quiet!" She exclaims.

"Maybe we could just continue-"

"I don't know anything about Union Allied!" Margo snaps. "And this money could be useful."

" _For what_?!"

Margo's silent for a moment, glancing from one twin to the other. "For the new house."

"What?!" Camden exclaims.

Tessa blinks. She blinks again. "E-e-excuse me?" She stutters. "You want to leave?"

"He was right, we need a new start. I don't want this to follow the kids." She says, her voice breaking. "I don't want to spend my life in a place that reminds me of Danny, that reminds the kids that they're going to grow up without a father."

Tessa steps away from her, running her hands through her hair. "And where the hell do you think you'll be going?"

"I-I don't know." Margo shrugs. "Maybe somewhere near Jean-"

"That's nearly three hours away!" She exclaims, feeling that belt around her chest again.

She's lost Danny and now she's losing the rest of her family, oh god, oh god- "I have to go." She says, grabbing her jacket from the back of the chair.

"Where are you going?" Camden shouts after her.

"I can't be here right now!" She snaps back at him, slamming the door behind her. She knows it's a cowardly move to run out on her family, but now she's losing everyone, and Union Allied is taking them away from her.

She remembers Karen Page and starts to walk faster.

She storms up the stairs at her apartment complex and pulls her keys out of her pockets with shaking hands, closing the door behind her before heading to her bedroom. The coat she wore to the funeral is hanging on the door to her closet and the scrap of paper is taken from her pocket. She's all but forgotten it in the last few days, too busy with looking after everyone, but today has brought it back to the forefront of her mind. She dials the number into the phone, her hands shaking like she's drank too much coffee. She's greeted by the sound of the phone ringing on the other end.

 _Pick up._

 _Pick up, pick up, pick up._

She picks up after the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Karen?"

"Yes! Tessa, uh, hi." She seems surprised at the sound of her voice. "What are you calling about?"

"I want to talk to you about Danny."

"You do?" Karen says, sounding a little more hopeful. "You changed your mind?"

"Yeah." Tessa says. "Listen, are you free right now?"

"Yeah, do you want to meet?"

Tessa lists off a coffee shop near her apartment and the pair agree on meeting in fifteen minutes. She hangs up and hops off her bed, tugging her jacket back on. She leaves the apartment, smoking a cigarette on her way there to calm her nerves.

It takes her fifteen minutes to get from her home to a seat in Starbucks, clutching at her coffee. Karen sits opposite her, pulling out a file from her handbag and opening it to let Tessa see it. "They tried to offer me money so say nothing, but I couldn't. Not after what they did." She says.

"They've offered that to my sister-in-law too." She says. "And I think she's going to take it."

"Do you think she should?" Karen asks, raising her eyebrow.

"That's a good question." Tessa mutters, scratching at the label on the cup. She wants her family to be happy but she feels like she's losing everyone. "I don't know." She admits. "But what I do know is that I don't want to let them get away with what they did to Danny." She pauses. "And to you. What do we do?"

"Good." Karen says, her lips curling into almost a smile. "Like I said, I have a few ideas."

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I'm sorry about taking so long to update, I had a lot of schoolwork and then I got hit with writer's block, but I'm hoping to update a lot more, especially since season two comes out on Friday! Let me know what you think and I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Thank you to Celestial Valkyrie, Jabberwocking, Illusionoflove, and OneWhoCharms for reviewing, OneHeart OneDirection, bums, fandomenforcer, and redrosebird for favouriting, and Danielle89, Nickie Windridge, Samantha247, YojimboTenshi, bums, chasingpurpleballoons, fandomenforcer, glynnismta, and lilylittle for following!**


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